


"Totally Tubular" [Lumax Drabble Collection]

by she_who_the_river_could_not_hold



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Drabble, Drabble Collection, F/M, One Shot Collection, Originally Posted on Tumblr, but these are all Lumax-centric fics, there will be various other characters that pop up
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-04
Updated: 2019-02-04
Packaged: 2019-10-22 08:54:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 10,078
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17659688
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/she_who_the_river_could_not_hold/pseuds/she_who_the_river_could_not_hold
Summary: From AUs to Canon Divergence, a collection of Tumblr one-shots and drabbles originally posted on Tumblr. Summaries before each chapter.





	1. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: LUMAX + “WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING AT?”

Mr. Sinclair would tell you in a heartbeat that it’s pretty much impossible to say no to his wife. And he’s correct of course.

Lucas was learning this on a Friday night in the fall of his sophomore year of high school, having been roped into looking after Erica instead of going out to hang out with his friends. He had protested as much as possible but a single arched eyebrow from Mrs. Sinclair had him sighing and agreeing, not wanting to disappoint his mom.

He had cautiously asked an hour later if Max could come over and help babysit (was it even babysitting if Erica was eleven now?) and Mrs. Sinclair had readily agreed, satisfied enough that Lucas could stay home that night. And she did trust her son to not get himself into trouble while his younger sister was there too.

It was a couple hours into the babysitting now and Erica had reluctantly agreed to work on some homework before Lucas served dinner and maybe they turned on a movie. Max and Lucas were hanging out in the living room, looking through channels and laughing at some of the more ridiculous shows. Eventually they land on a Notre Dame football game and end up leaving it on that as background noise.

What then first starts out as just they’re usual teasing turns into a semi-tickle fight.

To distract Lucas, Max squirms past his hands and quickly kisses him. It startles him enough that his hands stop their movements and the two of them unconsciously fall into it. With a hum, Max teasingly pulls her head back just slightly, causing him to miss her mouth. Lucas grins and chases the second kiss – only to be interrupted by the stomping of Erica’s feet on the hardwood flooring and her determined voice breaking the moment.

“Hey Lucas! Can you stop drooling over Max long enough to help me with this homework problem? I’m totally stumped.”

Lucas groaned, flopping back onto the couch. Max bit back her laugh and tried to not encourage the sibling banter  _too much_. She couldn’t help it; it was refreshing to be around siblings who were able to get along (even if they’d tell you that they didn’t).

Lucas slid himself onto the floor and perched himself over the coffee table where Erica had strewn out her books and what looked to be like a homework packet. She was gnawing on the eraser in nervousness and Max immediately picked up it, recognizing the tick as one that she would often see Lucas doing as well while he himself was working on homework.

He quickly skimmed the chapter she had opened the book to and then began to translate it for Erica. He used his hands as he explained it, speaking slowly and providing what seemed like a good amount of metaphors.

Max feels herself sinking amongst the pillows, a dreamy expression taking over her face.

Watching Lucas interact with Erica is peaceful and it fills her with a warmth. She feels herself getting lost in watching him as he takes the time to help his sister and also just how good he is at understanding and breaking things down for her.

For the first time Max lets her mind stray towards post-school.

Obviously they’d have to go to college, but she was suddenly struck by the idea that Lucas would probably be really good at being a teacher. She’d have to ask him if he’d ever considered it.

He must have felt her gaze though and while Erica wrote down answers, he looked back up over at her.

“What are you looking at?” Lucas mouthed over to Max, a look of confusion crossing his face.

Max simply shrugged as her small smile grew wider. He jokingly narrowed his gaze at her before giving her an easy smile before returning to helping point things out in Erica’s textbook. Max’s heart gave a small flutter as she readjusted herself in the couch and grabbed the remote to flip through the channels as the evening went on.

Maybe babysitting wasn’t so bad.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: KISSES WHERE ONE PERSON IS SITTING IN THE OTHER’S LAP FOR LUMAX

“We’re going to go carve pumpkins, anybody else in?” Will called out, gesturing towards him and El.

Mike was already making his way over to them, a bemused smile on his face at his girlfriend’s obvious excitement about carving pumpkins (she never made them look scary). Dustin shook his head, reminding them that he had promised Steve he’d help out at the haunted house walkthrough the police force was sponsoring this year.

Max and Lucas glanced at each at other before responding.

“I think we’re going to go do the hay ride,” Max called back across the pumpkin patch.

Will responded with a thumbs up and took off to catch up to his other friends (El always insisted on having the most perfectly round pumpkin, which required them to beat out the other people). Dustin began to jog over towards the haunted house area, where a distant Steve could already be seen pacing back and forth. It hadn’t been his idea to volunteer but he had a habit of getting himself in situations involving managing teens. Turned out he still had a knack for it.

Hands clasped together, Max and Lucas began to make their way towards the hayride station. It was a crisp fall night, but still only late September which kept the night still enjoyable. Though even after a couple years of living in Hawkins, Max still reacted to the cold much faster than her friends and as soon as they had situated themselves on the wagon, Max immediately magnetized herself to Lucas.

“Do you feel how cold my hands are?” Max whined, attempting to place her hands on Lucas’ neck.

“Don’t even think about it Mad Max,” he swore, pulling back so that she missed.

As more people got on, the two scooted closer together until finally Max said with a grin, “I might as well just share your body heat  _and_  make room for more people by sitting on your lap.”

Lucas rolled his eyes but gave her a kiss on the cheek.

“Only if you promise to not try sticking your hands on my neck again, go for it,” he teased lightly, shifting himself so that she could climb onto his lap.

Swinging her legs over the side of him, she nestled in closely. Over the past year or two Lucas had finally hit his growth spurt. While not nearly as tall as Mike, he had become significantly taller than Max and she now took full advantage of it to hide herself from the late afternoon breeze. Lucas was warm and his flannel soft, a hint of spice on his breath from the apple cider they had been drinking earlier that day. His hand, which had ghost across her hip earlier, tightened its grip as the wagon bounced along in a rut.

The conversation they were having about the upcoming homecoming dance and game slowly trailed off as the ride continued. Looking up and seeing the slowly setting sun glowing on Lucas’ skin made Max’s heart flutter. The golden and rich hues of autumn were the perfect match for him and she couldn’t get enough of it.

She straightened herself up just enough so that she could easily plant a light kiss on his lips.

Grinning, Lucas caught her chin with his hand and pulled her closer again so he could kiss her again. The hint of apple and spice is stronger now and Lucas can taste the hint of her strawberry chapstick and the pumpkin pie she had bought at one of the booths. It’s all purely the taste of fall and the memories of when they first had met. Lucas is pretty sure that Halloween years ago through today make fall easily his favorite season now.

Max pulled back slowly, her eyes fluttering open as she smiled at Lucas. He smiled back at her and placed one more kiss on her forehead before she tucked her head under his chin.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: LUMAX + "YOU SAW ME READING THE SAME BOOK YOU WERE AND WE GOT INTO A HEATED DISCUSSION ON HOW MUCH IT SUCKS" AU

“Oh there’s Mike! Let’s go say hi!”

Max rolled her eyes but dutifully followed her best friend El over towards where a certain Mike Wheeler was sitting. He and his friends were sitting at one of the tables in the corner of the cafeteria. While Hawkins High wasn’t a very large school, the student body had recently begun to exceed its size during lunch, which had resulted in students being allowed to eat in the hallways, outside, or in the cafeteria. Juniors and seniors were allowed to leave the campus to go get lunch out, as long as they weren’t late.

Normally none of this mattered. Max and El had staked claim of an awkwardly alone cement table outside and would eat out there a fair distance away from everyone else.

Except El had been partnered up with Mike in biology on a project and now had the perfect excuse to talk to him a lot more.

So now that they had finished eating their lunches, El had dragged Max back inside to “just stretch our legs some.” Her intentions had been clearly very quickly though.

The boys had secured a hallway to hang out in for lunch, taking over a section with their awkwardly long limbs (mainly Mike’s) and spreading out their homework (usually all of theirs). Today, Mike was leaning up against the bar that divided the hallway in half while the other three were sitting on the floor.

When he spotted El waving at him, he quickly jumped up and Max had to conceal her laugh with a cough. The two were so obvious about each other it was insane.

She gave a nod to each of the other boys as Mike and El immediately began chatting about when they would get together to work on the lab.

Her eyes though lingered on Lucas, who was slouched against the wall with his nose in a book. She arguably knew him the best out of the four, having been one of the first people she had met freshman year, but they were just now maybe able to call each other friends. She didn’t let the change from competitor to potential friend disrupt their rivalry, but she did have to admit it made their debate teacher much happier now that she didn’t have to pull them apart.

Just when she’s about to attempt a casual conversation though, she notices the title of the book he’s reading.

“You’ve got to be kidding me, you’re reading  _Grapes of Wrath_  too?”

Max’s voice cut over the rest of them talking and everyone’s eyes went to hers, Lucas’ slowly lifting up from the book in hand.

“You’re reading it too?” She asks again, nodding her heads towards the book.

Realization dawns on his face.

“Shut up. You’re doing your presentation on  _The Grapes of Wrath_ too?” He replies with a groan.

Mike and El return to their conversation, trying to ignore their friends and their usual banter. Will and Dustin give each other a side eye look and bite back laughter, Dustin returning to his lunch and Will to his art homework he was rushing to finish before class.

“I thought there weren’t supposed to be duplicate presentations,” Max said crossly.

Lucas shrugged nonchalantly.

“May the best presentation win,” he replied back with a wink, a hint of sarcasm lacing his words. He couldn’t believe he was still trying to win her over as a friend (or more) when she can’t let a single damn thing go.

“Well thankfully my presentation is going to kick ass even though this book sucks. I really only picked it because it’s one of the few classics I haven’t read. Which makes it even more dumb that we’re both doing this presentation.”

Lucas grins, pushing himself into a more upright position while Max lowered herself onto the floor across from him.

“You hate it too??”

Max grimaced, glaring at the book.

“Are you kidding me? I  _despise_  that damn book. It’s the actual worst and the ending ––”

“The ending is terrible!” Lucas finished for me and the two actually laugh at the same time, not realizing they had leaned forward towards each other (Will had and promptly had nudged Dustin in the side).

“Oh don’t even get me started, I’m already planning a couple of slides for me to rant about it,” Max said with a smirk.

Lucas pointed at his copy of the book, filled with a rainbow of sticky notes marking various sections.

“You’re not even going to be able to touch that scathing presentation I’m going to do. I can’t believe how many ways I heard dust described, like Steinbeck, we get it.”

The two began to fall deeper into discussion, something along the lines of the movie subconsciously convincing people it was actually a good story. There were moments where they disagreed, indignant snorts from Max and scoffs from Lucas, but they seemed to find a balance between it.

“No wonder our debate team is actually improving,” whispered Dustin, leaning over towards Will. “These two won’t let anyone else win.”

Will laughed quietly, watching the two.

“Do you think they know they both have a crush on each other?” he asked in a hushed tone.

Dustin shook his head quickly, his hat nearly falling off of his head in the process.

“Nah there’s no way. Lucas is just as clueless as Mike is about El. We’re going to have to deal with these lovestruck idiots for all of high school.”

Luckily it would turn out that they wouldn’t have to. At some point each couple would get it together and figure out the other person actually did like them. But for now, this was what they were left with.

Will glanced at each pairing before pulling out his wallet.

“Five bucks that Mike and El figure it out first,” he said in a hushed tone, sliding the bill across the linoleum floor to Dustin’s outstretched hand.

“Done.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: A PROMPT WHERE LUCAS KNOWS HOW TO MAKE FLOWER CROWNS BECAUSE OF ERICA AND MAKES ONE FOR MAX

Bursting outside, the cool air sent a rush of goosebumps down Max’s arms as she pulled Lucas out of the hallway and into the parking lot. Behind them, prom continued on as it had just moments ago when they had been rocking out to the Talking Heads on the gym floor with everyone else.

Max had wanted a breath of fresh air though and Lucas was hardly going to deny her request (plus he could use a breather after that dance off that he and Dustin had just been in against each other). There were maybe a couple other classmates outside as well, scattered in the shadows as they snuck a quick smoke in or maybe even a drink of something a little stronger than the punch inside.

Max had other ideas though.

She was humming to herself, practically dancing as she made her way to the large area of grass that spread out behind the high school. Her long dress, “sea foam green” as she had described it, seemed to float around her ankles as she glided across the pavement. She moved like she was on her skateboard even when she didn’t have it.

Lucas walked leisurely behind her, his hands shoved in his pockets as he watched his girlfriend reach the grass. Even after years of dating he hadn’t been convinced she’d be interested in prom. But it was senior year and she had said “fuck it I can wear a dress for one night.”  
“I’ve always wished I learned how to make flower crowns,” Max said breathlessly, dropping down to her knees onto the ground. Her hands delicately began to pull some of them out of the ground.  
Lucas shrugged, still standing as he contemplated if it was worth getting the rented tux dirty. 

“They’re really not hard actually.”

Max’s head cocked curiously at him and he sighed. Looked like he was going to get the tux dirty. 

Squatting down, Lucas took some of the flowers she had grabbed and found a couple more before fully seating himself on the ground. Max watched mesmerized while Lucas’ hands began to deftly weave them together.

“You mean you’ve been hiding this from me all this time?” Max’s eyes sparkled teasingly, even in the darkness.

“Hush,” Lucas replied back, his tongue just beginning to poke out of his mouth as he focused on the stems in his hand.

Music flowed through the air as they sat outside in the grass.

“It’s all because of Erica,” he explained as the crown began to take shape in his hands. “She always wanted to be a princess. There are barely any black dolls that are princesses though, especially when we were kids, so we’d sit in the backyard and I’d make these for her so she could wear them.”

It’s such a Lucas thing to do for his sister that Max feels a rush of love for him course through her and her heart melted.

Before she could say anything though, he readjusted himself and held his hands out. The mix of daisies and dandelions manage to glow even out of the way of the moon and the fluorescent school lights. Max’s face lit up and she ducked her head so that Lucas could softly place it on her head, careful to not rip it apart. 

With Max’s long red hair and the dress El had managed to find for her that magically had fit her perfectly, she looked beautiful. 

“You look like a hippie princess,” Lucas teased affectionately. 

Max blushed and waved her hand off as if he was being ridiculous, clearly pleased with herself though. Lucas jumped up and proceeded to mock bow, causing her to let out one of her big laughs where she clutched her stomach and her eyes would scrunch up. 

“A dance, my lady?” He asked, dropping his voice into a deeper baritone. 

“Yeah, you’re not going to say that again,” she warned, getting up all the same though and place her hand in his and her other on his shoulder. 

As they swayed gently back and forth in the parking lot, the music from the dance could be heard just in the distance. Dirt stains dotted the hem of Max’s dress and her mother would later sigh and just say  _oh Maxine_.Some of the flowers and began to drop out of the crown and tangle in her long hair, flashes of yellow and white as she moved her head to the music. 

But it was perfect.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Lumax + a gentle “i love you” whispered after a soft kiss, followed immediately by a stronger kiss (inspired by these [headcanons](https://she-who-the-river-could-not-hold.tumblr.com/post/171132153164/ok-so-since-i-loved-that-lumax-drunk-drabble-i))

The end of the boulevard where Max’s dad lived ended in a dead-end street, with houses on both sides but a large open space between them to leave open the view to the ocean. The low, one-story houses let the sunset take center stage across the sky. The sky had been a deep orange as the sun dipped below the horizon, setting the ocean on fire in a glow before disappearing and bringing a painted sky of violet and rich blue hues behind it.

Max had sat next to Lucas, her knees knocking into his as they stared out at the setting sun. A breeze had played with the ends of her hair as the sun’s last rays had warmed Lucas’ skin. Much welcome after a long, cold spring in Hawkins. They’d been silent the whole time, seated on the cement curb as their feet rested in the grass in front of them, barefoot.

When it’s finally gone though, they both scramble to get up to head back towards Max’s dad’s house. Shaking the granules of pavement out of her palms from pressing them into the ground, Max give Lucas a sly smile.

“Race you back?”

“Is this whole, everything-is-a-competition thing you have an inherited trait? Am I going to get back there and your dad’s going to challenge me to an arm wrestle?”

Max let out a laugh and gave him a casual shrug as if to say  _well you never know._

_“_ Well, how about instead of a race, we just try to keep pace with each other?” Lucas offered, stretching his legs out after sitting on the ground for so long.

“That’s fair Stalker, I’m game.”

And with that they take off. Max on her skateboard with Lucas jogging at a steady pace beside her. Playing baseball his last two years of high school had made it easier for him to keep up with her and soon they’re practically back to her dad’s house. They can smell the aroma of him grilling, a smokey scent that sends a rumble through Lucas’ stomach.

Just before they reach the back patio though, Lucas grabs Max’s hand. She’s already off her skateboard and she whirls into him a little bit. They’ll never have the height difference that Mike and El have, but as she looks just up into his eyes he feels himself grow more and more assured of himself. And what he’s about to say.

“Hey,” he whispers, pulling her close and planting a soft kiss on her lips. She smells like sunscreen and tastes like her watermelon chapstick she’s been using lately. They separate and she looks up at him almost dizzyingly, her eyes fluttering open to look back at up.

“I love you.”

He says the words intentionally yes, but certainly not with any sort of planning behind it.

But earlier this afternoon, as they had stretched their legs from the plane ride on the beach, he had felt it. As he had watched her run into the water, the sun glowing against her hair as she hollered for him to join her.

He loved her.

He loved her at her worst and he loved her at her best.

He loved her when she was protective and on guard back home, holding her own against her step-family. He loved her when she was free and alive in the ocean.

He loved her.

Max’s eyes melt and her whole body relaxes into him before she reaches a hand up to place on the back of his head. Her hand twisting into his tight curls, she pulled his face down before giving him a much stronger kiss.

“I love you too,” she replied, their lips barely an inch a part.

Lucas had known this was going to be a great vacation, but now he knew he was never going to forget it.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Lumax + ”BUT WE’RE NOT ADULTS! WE’RE KIDS UNTIL WE TURN 18! WE’RE KIDS.”

The smoke was choking the oxygen out of the air and it was only when Lucas slammed the door shut that they were able to escape it. The sounds around them — the shouts and the cracking of walls and lockers — dissipate.

“I think we’re safe,” Lucas breathed, his voice shaky.

Max felt the tears burn down her cheeks before she realized she was crying.

The tears stung.

Lucas slumped down into a squat, his forehead resting against the cold metal door, his hands laying helplessly on his knees, the right one barely holding onto the gun that he’d been handed only hours before by Steve.

Max tried her best to swallow back the sob that tried to spill from her. Instead she whimpered into her sleeve, inhaling the acrid smell on it from the smoke and whatever the slime shit from the Upside Down was. Hearing her, Lucas swayed back and crawled across the linoleum tiles, his shoes squeaking against it as he pulled her into his arms.

Her head nestled into the crook of his neck, just like that time a couple years ago at the Snow Ball. An unexpected, hurried kiss followed by pulling herself into his arms.

Oh what she would give up to go back to that.

But right now there’s literal blood on her hands and tiny splinters from Steve’s bat shattering in her hands.

Her hands shake.

Tremble.

It’s the second full-body shiver that runs through her that brings Lucas’ hands to hers. Steadying them. He doesn’t notice, or mind, the splinters. He simply laces his fingers in between hers and drops a soft, lingering kiss to her forehead.

“He’s not… dead, is he?”

Max can barely say the word.

“I don’t know.”

Lucas’ response is forced, him fighting for control over his words as they come out of his mouth in rigid fashion.

“We’re just kids,” Max mumbles to herself, her eyes casting about the closet but unseeing of their surroundings.

Instead she sees the gym. Of Mike getting knocked down as he ran towards the collapsed El. Of Nancy screaming and Hopper having no choice but to set the room ablaze to send it back. Away from them.

And of running.

“We’re not adults,” she said, continuing louder this time. “We’re not adults until we’re 18, we’re kids! This isn’t how we were supposed to spend our summer vacation. We were supposed to be swimming and watching fireworks, not—”

She doesn’t finish that sentence.

Lucas’ grip on her shoulder is almost too tight, but she doesn’t mind. It’s keeping her grounded while the rest of her feels like she’s floating.

“We’re just kids,” Max uttered one last time, her voice wobbling.

She isn’t sure if the sounds outside have calmed down or if the buzzing in her ears is what’s blocking them. She hopes Lucas will be able to hear the signal that it’s safe to come out. That the fire worked like Will had promised. That’d she’d go back out there and she’d see Mike woozy but safe. El, the blood from her face wiped away.

But they needed a signal.

_And she didn’t know if it was coming._


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: LUMAX + IT’S THE HOTTEST DAY OF THE SUMMER IN HAWKINS AND MAX AND LUCAS SPENDS SOME TIME BY THE QUARRY

Max could feel the cold trickle of sweat running down her back, her cotton tank top sticking to it. Her hands quickly twisted her hair into a ponytail in a desperate attempt to get it off of her neck, though she knew it was a fruitless effort in terms of staying cool.

The humidity pressed down on her as she waited at the end of her driveway. Summer in the midwest was  _actually_ the worst, she had decided. It felt like walking through water, those cicada things were way too loud, and overall everything had a weird feeling of slow-motion, as if you were walking through water. Nope, she didn’t like it all.

But as she absentmindedly picked at a scab on her ankle (a result of a less-than successful trick on her board), something she did like about summer rode up to her house on his bike.

Lucas gave her a wave and a large grin as he pulled his bike to a stop.

“You ready Mad Max?”

“You’re late Stalker,” she taunted back at him, smiling all the same as she scrambled up to her feet and grabbed her skateboard.

There was a miraculous breeze as the two began to make their way towards their destination, a mixture of a natural one and the one they generated themselves as they moved at a quick pace. Max propelled herself forward as Lucas pushed himself to keep up on his bike. They didn’t talk much, mainly laughing and urging the other on if they fell behind. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky and the sun shone down in its full glory.

Soon enough, they found themselves moving along the road to the quarry, forcing them to slow down. While Lucas would be able to handle the gravel on the bike, they had discovered that it tripped up Max’s skateboard (quite literally according to the scratches on her palms), so they reluctantly walked the rest of the way.

Max listened excitedly as Lucas described Erica’s upcoming birthday party that would be next week. Since this summer was even hotter than normal, his parents had agreed to get an inflatable pool for the backyard and he’d managed to also convince them to also let the party over. They’d of course stay out of the birthday girl’s way, but it was too good of an opportunity to pass up.

While she still loved hanging out with everyone, Max definitely loved these special times with just Lucas. It was nice to get him all to herself sometimes, letting them just relax and be with each other. They had grown even closer since the Snow Ball (he still stuttered calling her his girlfriend which made her giggle uncontrollably), and even if they just sat silently together, it was perfect. Which was pretty much what they were planning on doing today.

Upon reaching the bottom of the path, they chucked their shoes and modes of transportation onto the ground and quickly ran into the water.

The cold water was both absolutely freezing but also the most refreshing thing Max had ever felt. She hadn’t even bothered to yank off her tank top or shorts, but still plunged on ahead as she dropped deeper into the water.

“Oh my god this is amazing,” she said with a groan.

Lucas hummed in agreement, already floating on his back.

“I won’t miss the heat, but I’m going to miss this once school starts up again,” Lucas said a minute later, thinking aloud to himself.

Max nearly shot out of the water, sputtering as she did.

“You take that back,” she swore as she sent a splash in Lucas’ direction. “We’ve got two months left of summer, don’t even think about saying the word ‘school’ again.”

Lucas had failed to dodge her splash and with a shake of his head, lunged for her and tried his best to tickle her. With a shriek, Max attempted to splash him back but it was almost too late and he was able to grab ahold of her waist. The two play fought briefly before beginning to make their way back to land. They couldn’t stop laughing in between catching their breath and ended up just collapsing onto the ground.

The sun baked down and Max could feel the heat lifting the dampness from her clothes.

She bit her lip and rolled her head towards Lucas, feeling herself blush when she caught him looking at her.

“Think high school will change anything?”

She couldn’t help the nerves that snuck into her tone as she voiced the question. Middle school had been weird so far. Who was to say what high school would bring? She was starting to get used to parallel universe monsters, she wasn’t so sure about seniors.

“Didn’t you say no talking about school?” Lucas teased gently, though even as he squinted over at her she could see the concern on his face.

She grimaced and simply twisted her head back up towards the sky. Bright electric blue with faint wisps of clouds scattered across the sky. The humidity had even reached down to the bottom of the quarry. It was  _miserably_  hot. But part of her suddenly didn’t want it to change. Not when she got to be out of the cold and away from responsibilities. When she could spend all day and night with her friends.

Feeling a tug at her hands, Max looked back down and saw Lucas’ reached across and his fingers intertwined in between hers.

“High school isn’t going to change anything, I promise.”

“Are you using Mike’s thing now?” She smiled all the same though.

“Sometimes he’s right,” Lucas responded sarcastically.

Max giggled before letting her eyes drift shut. The water was evaporating and the sweat was coming back. She could feel her stomach rumble too and her mind immediately drifted towards the sandwiches that Mrs. Sinclair had added to Lucas’ backpack. The rest of the afternoon would entail them chilling, swimming some more, and simply being together. The humidity here might be the second worst weather she’s encountered (the worst being winter), but right now she wouldn’t trade this for the world.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Lumax + “YOU LOOK REALLY CUTE IN THAT.”

The dance is winding down finally, quite a handful of students having already left. Mike’s refused to let any of them leave though, insisting that they need to capitalize on the amount of time El has left tonight.

Lucas can’t blame him for it.

He was sitting on the bleachers watching the rest of them doing an enthusiastic rendition of Michael Jackson’s thriller and it was hilarious watching Dustin attempt to show El how to dance to it. He noticed however that was certain redhead was missing from the experience.

Placing his small plastic cup of juice next to himself, he hoists himself up to see if he can see where Max went. He sees a flash of red hair near one of the backdoors and he quickly hoists himself up to follow.

It takes some exploring but he eventually finds her in one of the hallways, sitting down on the ground as she rests against the lockers. He coughs slightly to get her attention to not scare her away and she looks up at him, a large smile growing on her face.

“Okay, now I’m not kidding when I call you a Stalker,” she teased as he joined her against the lockers.

Sliding down to the ground, Lucas knocks his shoulder against hers.

“Yeah and you’re definitely a zoomer, were you running or something? It was nearly impossible to catch up to you!”

When she throws her head back and laughs, he can’t help the fluttering feeling in his chest. He can still feel their kiss, not even an hour ago, and it’s like the world around him has a glow to it.

She ends up shrugging, almost embarrassed to look up at him.

“I just needed some air I think. Or a break. It’s kind of a lot in there and I’m not used to all of this,” she explains, gesturing to herself.

Lucas arches an eyebrow at her.

“All of what?”

“Getting dressed up. I know it’s not much, especially compared to the girls in there. But it still can feel like a lot and I’m getting used to it. I guess it was overwhelming.”

She’s rambling and Lucas can’t help but shake his head while she’s talking.

“You’re being crazy. Who cares if those girls are all in dresses? You look really cute in that. Plus you should just wear what you’re comfortable in. I mean, I like you in anything,” he says.

Her blue eyes remind him of the photos of the ocean she’s showed him and not that he’s trying to be dramatic, but he can feel himself drowning in them. Their heads have slowly been gravitating towards each other.

“So you like me huh?” Her voice is a low teasing whisper and he can feel her breath on him.

“You could say that,” he replies, inching closer to kiss her when suddenly –

“No loitering in the halls!”

The two leap apart to see one of the chaperones standing at the end of the hall, her hands on her hips.

“Come on, back to the dance!” She calls out, motioning for them to follow her.

With a laugh, the two scramble to get up and begin to follow the teacher back to the gym. But not before Max can grab Lucas’ hand and give him a quick kiss on the cheek.

Definitely the best Snow Ball ever.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Lumax + “Half the time I get too embarrassed to say anything to you” + second kiss

In an ideal world, Lucas is convinced that after the Snow Ball he and Max would have become official boyfriend and girlfriend.

He is not currently living in that world.

It’s not that he doesn’t want to be her boyfriend, because regardless of how he shrugs off Dustin and Will’s badgering questions, he really does want to. It’s just that he hasn’t found the courage yet. It all seems silly.

I mean, she was the one that kissed him.

He couldn’t figure out what to do and had ended up turning to El for advice about the whole thing (something that would have seemed odd to him two years ago but it turned out that she was actually the only other level headed person in their party). Her voice had crackled over the Supercom after he told his story.

“Well why don’t you just kiss her? Over.”

Lucas nearly dropped his radio at that.

“What do you mean? Over.”

El had then explained in her very matter-of-fact way that since Max had kissed him first, and slow danced with him, it meant that she like liked him. Because those were things Mike had done too and so it only made sense for Lucas to follow up on it.

She maybe had a point.

Those words of advice were currently floating through his head too, as he and Max hung out his house. It was Christmas break and Max spent most of her days over at one of the party member’s house, depending on what they were all up to. She had even spent an afternoon at the Hopper cabin, Lucas adamant that the two girls unite over their common traits. It had been slow at first, but with a nod from Mike and Max’s determined smile, El had warmed up to her and they had spent the afternoon cutting up paper snowflakes to hang on the windows.

Today she was at his place. The party planned to meet up that evening, Mike had been working on finalizing their new campaign all week, but for now Max and Lucas were hanging out in his living room as a light snow fell outside.

Mrs. Sinclair had made them sandwiches for lunch and they were currently sitting on his couch watching some of the new episodes of the show Jeopardy. It had recently come back on earlier that year with a new host after taking a break, but growing up as a kid it had been a Sinclair family staple.

It turned out Max both equally enjoyed watching and shouting out the answers she knew.

For a while they had been tied (at some point Lucas had secured a notebook to keep score) but now she was definitely winning.

All because he couldn’t stop thinking about that first kiss.

And how there hadn’t been a second one yet. So when she turned to say something about him somehow getting one of the science ones wrong while she got it write, he grabbed her face and kissed her.

When he pulled back, they both had a startled expression. Which equally turned to embarrassment on his end and a giant smile on hers.

“You could have just asked to kiss me you know,” Max teased. Lucas only groaned in response, holding his head in hands.

“Hey,” she said, poking him in the shoulder. “It’s okay to kiss me, you know. What’s up?”

“Half the time I get too embarrassed to say anything to you. I wasn’t sure how I was supposed to ask to kiss you again,” he mumbled.

Max’s eyebrows knitted together in confusion.

“What are you talking about? We talk all the time?”

“Not like that,” Lucas corrected. “Say anything about us. Or if there is an ‘us’ even. See I can’t even say that without messing it up somehow.”

Max rolled her eyes, grabbing Lucas’ hand and intertwining their fingers. She gently rubbed his thumb, in one of her occasional openly affectionate moves.

“Hey Stalker. I kissed you for a reason at the Snow Ball. I wasn’t kidding when I said I like talking with you,” she said gently, correctly picking up the cues that Lucas was genuinely anxious about this.

Lucas looked over at her and she returned his gaze with a smile. One slowly began to grow across his face and she could feel him him relaxing.

Sensing the mood lifted, she nods her head towards the TV and her smile changes into a mischievous grin.

“I’ll have ‘What is Lucas Sinclair Thinking’ for 500 please.”

Lucas tightens his grip on her hand before responding.

“What is, will you be my girlfriend Max Mayfield?”


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: LUMAX + GETTING DUNK FOR THE FIRST TIME

“You know beer is actually pretty gross.”

Lucas looks over the rim of the bottle in his hand as he knocks another sip back.

“Why are you own your fourth then?”

Max let’s out a giggle and tosses her hair over shoulder. “So Steve wouldn’t feel bad for going through all that trouble to get it to us. Not gonna turn down free beer,” she replies with a wiggle of her eyebrows at him.

He gets a chuckle out of that and the two return to gazing up at the night sky. They were out in Mike’s backyard, embracing the dying days of summer before school started. At Dustin’s convincing, Steve had purchased beer for them so that they could experience alcohol in their own setting. High school so far had been better than middle school and the boys no longer found themselves at the bottom of the social pyramid. But they had yet to find themselves at a party and the nervousness of drinking alcohol was something they all felt. Dustin had managed to convince Steve it was safest for them to try drinking in Mike’s basement before going to a bigger party and that’s where they found themselves this Thursday night in August.

El and Will had correctly been assumed to be the lightest weight drinkers, each making it through a beer and a half before dissolving giggles and subsequently passing out on the couch together. Mike had held his own fairly well, and was currently El’s pillow as he was in a whisper-debate with Dustin about the direction their new campaign was going in. Dustin probably had the best tolerance of all of them, though he used it as a perfect chance to serenade each of them that night. Lucas and Max had been pacing each other, both as a precaution and as a challenge. When it became obvious the others were doing their own thing, Max had grasped Lucas’ hand and pulled him out to Mike’s backyard.

Lucas would be hesitant to say that they’re completely drunk, but he’s enjoying the looseness that comes with the alcohol. Especially in the comfort of his friends, he feels himself able to relax into it. Max is distractedly pointing out different shapes of the stares and making up elaborate stories of what they are, interrupting herself with her own laughter as she loses it at her own jokes. Eventually they fall into a comfortable silence.

“We should go to California,” Lucas says suddenly, twisting to face Max from his seated position on the grass.

She chokes on the sip of beer she had been about to swallow and looks at him in surprise.

“What?”

“California - let’s go. Show me your home, I can meet your dad. Let’s do it next summer. We can save up more money and we’ll have graduated from high school, it feels like the perfect time to do it.”

The entire time he’s talking, Max’s face breaks into first a smile of disbelief followed by pure excitement and adoration. She starts laughing and Lucas grabs her hand and pulls her closer to him.

“I’m serious,” he says, his voice low as he stares deeply at her.

“Are you always this spontaneous when you drink?” She teases gently, leaning her head in to rest against his.

“Maybe. Maybe it’s the alcohol, maybe it’s the company.”

His voice is joking but the glow in his eyes sends a hum through her body, distinctly different from the floating, buzzed feeling she had from the beers.

He’s actually being serious.

“Then it’s a promise Stalker,” she says affectionally, pulling out her old nickname for him. “We’ll go to California.”

They go silent again, Max resting her head on his shoulder. As she drinks more of the beer in her hand, slightly warmed at this point and still decidedly not great in terms of flavor, she feels warm and happy. Safe, even. Lucas’ arm is wrapped loosely along her back and the buzz makes a lazy grin grace her features. If her first night of drinking brought the promise of returning to her home with the boy she was pretty sure she was falling in love with, it wasn’t too bad of a start to senior year.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Lucas and Max don’t end up dating after the Snow Ball, but a couple of years down the line they’re at the mall as friends and there’s a photo booth and then…

While fighting off terrifying monsters from an alternate universe certainly builds a special bond, it didn’t always mean things fell together perfectly afterwards.

After the Snow Ball, and over Christmas Break, Max had felt herself feeling that maybe she needed to step back some. From everything really. It hadn’t exactly been a normal start to her first year in Hawkins, and as much as she enjoyed the hanging with the party, it felt like she needed to mix some things up.

And that included Lucas.

That one was harder for sure. He really was the only reason she initially had made all of these friends. And she had opened up to him in a way that she had never felt comfortable doing before, even with friends back in California. The Snow Ball had been great too, but the idea of dating someone (especially so soon after moving here and  _all of the other shit that had gone down_ ) was a lot, so she decided she wasn’t going to be his girlfriend.

Luckily, Lucas was probably the most understanding person she had ever met and welcomed the opportunity for them to just be friends.

Which had so far been working out great! She still hung out with the party occasionally, but had also managed to make some other friends in eighth grade that she split time with. She still would probably consider Lucas her best friend, but a lot of other feelings she had put off weren’t going to be coming to surface until the fall of ninth grade.

 

* * *

 

“Max, slow down!”

“How about you hurry up instead?”

Max giggled as she turned back to see Lucas moving into a speed-walking pace to catch up to her, tightening his grip on the shopping bag he was carrying.

“You’re not even supposed to be riding that in the mall,” he reminded her when he finally caught up, nodding his head towards her skateboard as she slowly made her way across the linoleum tiles.

She shrugged nonchalantly and gave him a mischievous grin, causing him to roll his eyes but unable to stop the wide smile that grew across his face. Max felt herself smiling back at him, nearly losing control of her board. It was hard to not though, she had noticed this year a bit of a funny feeling in her chest when they would hang out and it was becoming a bit inconvenient.

And entirely against what she had told him a couple years ago in that January after the Snow Ball.  _Damn it._

“They haven’t told me otherwise,” she replied teasingly, but hopped off of it all the same. “But fine Stalker, if it makes you feel better. Plus we’ve arrived!”

Lucas caught his breath from the light jog to catch up to her and turned to see where she was pointing, only to see…

“A photo booth?” He asked, the confusion in his voice obvious as he looked back at her.

“Yeah! Mariah has a whole wall of photos in her room and I don’t know, I think it would be fun to do the same! I’ve been here long enough now, it’s weird that I don’t have a ton of photos with my friends.”

“Aw we’re friends Mad Max?” Lucas fluttered his eyelashes dramatically at her and placed his hand on his heart, just in time for Max to give him a half-hearted shove.

“Shut up and get in the booth.”

They squeezed into it, Max’s skateboard under their feet with Lucas’ bag of new baseball gear resting on top. Lucas yanked the curtains shut while Max attempted to figure out how it worked, her tongue poking just barely out of her mouth in concentration. She was doing everything she could to not think about how much their legs were pressing together due to the small seat in the booth, or how as she leaned forward to figure out how to start the photos, Lucas had casually propped up his arm behind her on the back of the seat and how if she –

“You need any help there?” Lucas’ voice broke through her thoughts and a bright red blush immediately stained her cheeks.

“Uh, yeah. Totally. Here,” she said quickly, clearing her throat and sitting back.

Oh.

Yep.

His arm was definitely still there.

Max opened her mouth to suggest a pose when suddenly there was a loud  _CLICK_ , followed by an overly bright flash.

“Oh shit I think it’s started,” Lucas said with a laugh, just in time for the second  _CLICK_.

“Why is this so fast?? I wasn’t prepared!” Max was nearly doubling over with laughter, and when Lucas reached out to snag the photo strip, the third and fourth photos ended up just being ones of them completely laughing and out of focus.

“Okay so clearly we didn’t do this right,” Max mused, looking intently at the photos.

It was hard to be too disappointed in them though, not when there was so much happiness in the photos. She once again felt that fluttering in her stomach. Seventh grade Max hadn’t been ready for anything. Maybe ninth grade Max was.

She didn’t get to dwell on it too much though because Lucas nearly elbowed her in the side as he began to dig into his pocket.

“Here,” he said, pulling some money out and showing it to her. “Let’s do some more, I have some cash still from mowing lawns.”

This time they were more prepared.

“Quick! James Bond pose!” Max shrieked, the two going back to back and holding up their hands as makeshift guns.

“Pretend to be scared!” They clapped their hands on their cheeks, jaws dropped and eyes wide into the lens.

Unable to think of a third one, Max quickly turned to face Lucas and realized he had turned to her as well. He suddenly seemed very close to her, his eyes staring deeply into hers, so distractingly focused on her that she nearly missed the  _CLICK_  of the camera going off again. This time capturing them locked in each other’s gaze.

“Screw it,” Max muttered, suddenly reaching forward and pulling Lucas to her and planting a soft kiss on his lips just as the fourth picture took.

As Max pulled back, there was silence except for the small buzzing of the photos being printed on the other side of the curtain. Lucas was staring at her with a surprised expression on his face. She couldn’t blame him really, she did tell him previously she hadn’t wanted to date.

She mumbled an apology when he continued to not say anything, but as she felt herself growing dejected, he quickly grasped her hands.

“Hey, you definitely don’t need to apologize. I am,” he smiled for a second, trying to find the words, “more than okay with you kissing me.”

Her head whipped up at that, looking at him with her own expression of surprise now.

“But I told you–”

Lucas shook his head.

“I know what you told me. And being best friends with you is awesome. But I won’t ever deny that dating you would be totally tubular,” he said with a cheeky grin, causing her to groan and roll her eyes.

But it was really cute.

_He_  was really cute.

She leaned in to kiss him again when suddenly the curtain shot open and a cranky kid, maybe seven-years-old, was glaring at them.

“Are you done yet? Some of us are waiting too,” she said impatiently.

Max impulsively raised her hand to flip the little girl off (age be damned, learn some manners), but Lucas seemed to sense it and tightened his grip on her hand and gave the girl a slight grimace of a smile while he restrained Max.

“Yeah it’s all yours!”

He and Max sort of stumbled their way out, Max’s skateboard banging loudly on the tile floor as they popped out and the girl took their place.

Pulling up the photo strip though, Max felt her annoyance melt away and she excitedly showed it to Lucas. He grinned and kissed her temple gently as the two of them began to make their way towards the food court for lunch.

So maybe fighting monsters together doesn’t mean you’re going to immediately fall in love and end up together. Maybe mixed in there are millions of tiny moments that add up together, all built on that initial bond.

Maybe it means it creeps up on you slowly until one day you look at that person and y _ou just know_.


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Lumax + "I’m not stalking you, exactly, it’s just that you accidentally put my notebook in your bag and I’m waiting for a good moment to steal it back before you see the doodles of you i did in it"

Max didn’t realize her notebook wasn’t in her messenger bag until the end of third period.

Her second period class was pre-calc and her teacher had them working on worksheets at the start of the new unit, so she hadn’t needed it then.

Third period was AP English and they were in the the midst of reading Shakespeare’s  _Julius Caesar_ , so she had yet again found herself not needing the now-missing notebook.

However just near the end of class, that time when everyone is prematurely zipping up their backpacks and staring at the clock as if they can will it to go faster, Max finally reached into her bag to grab it. Her teacher was trying to shout the assignment over the rowdy class and Max wanted to make sure she got it written down. But when her hand grasped nothing but her AP biology textbook and her math worksheets, it hit her that her notebook was missing.

Her camo-printed notebook that she had covered in silver sharpie-written notes between her and El during health class on days it was unbearably boring (read: every day). The notebook she had pages upon pages of to-do lists and homework assignments. All of her current debate research printed and taped onto pages.

Debate research.

Debate.

Max knows exactly where her notebook is now.

Her first class of the day is debate, and she loves starting her day off like that. Especially now that she’s been named captain (alongside a certain Lucas Sinclair), she loves the extra involvement she gets to have.

Today hadn’t been too different. They’d been able to head down the hall to the library to do research on their topic and it took only about thirty minutes into the class for her and Lucas to begin debating each other. The other students had rolled their eyes and kept on working, as the two captains argued with each other while impressively doing it all at a low whisper.

They’d become too distracted though and before they knew it, the bell to signal it was time to head to their next class began to clang through the loudspeakers throughout the school.

Knowing she had to get across nearly the entire high school building to get to her next class, Max had quickly scooped up her work and raced out of the library.

It was now looking like she had forgotten something crucial.

And really, it wouldn’t be such a big deal.

It’s just a notebook.

Except last night she had ended up doodling Lucas’ name and hearts all over a bunch of pages while she and El chatted with each other on the phone.

So when the bell finally rang to leave her class, Max darted out of the classroom and immediately began to push through the crowd of students in the hallway. She didn’t want to admit to herself that she knew exactly what class he was leaving, but it was coming in handy right now. He was preparing to leave his AP Chemistry class, one of the few classes they didn’t have in common.

Sure enough, she sees the back of him and his best friend Mike Wheeler exiting the class, just a bit ahead of her.

She hadn’t quite planned this part out, so Max slows herself down so that she can keep them in sight. Maybe he’ll drop his bag off for lunch in his locker? She doesn’t think he and his friends leave for lunch, they tend to stay on the school grounds and hang out. But what if he doesn’t separate from his backpack?

Eventually she determines that she’s followed the two of them across nearly the entire school and she’s getting frustrated. Where the hell did they go?? She knows El is probably waiting in their usual spot for lunch, a lone outdoor cement table that’s shoved just a bit further out from all of the rest just outside. She considers texting her that she’ll be there soon, but she doesn’t want to lose sight of the two boys (or get busted again by Mr. Clarke for having her phone out).

However her stealthy following ends very quickly when she rounds the corner she had seen them go around – and slams right into Lucas.

“Took you long enough to catch up to us. And I’m the stalker?”

He’s chuckling as he helps steady her and Mike is leaning against the wall, trying to contain his laughter but unable to erase the smirk on his face.

“I’m not stalking you! I’m… you stole my notebook,” Max declared, tossing her hair over her shoulder and cocking an eyebrow defiantly.

Okay so he didn’t  _steal_  it, at least not on purpose. But he didn’t need to know that.

Lucas shook his head, swinging his backpack off his shoulder and pulling it out.

“I was going to give it to you in History after lunch, I didn’t realize it would be so urgent.”

But when Max lunges for it, Lucas pulls it back just out of her reach. He’s staring at her curiously now and she feels a blush threatening to bloom on her cheeks.

“Wait. Why is it such a big deal that I have your notebook?”

“Did you look through it?” Max deflects his question with her own. Mike’s eyebrows shoot up under his curly hair and Lucas blinks slowly.

“No, it’s your notebook. Should I have looked in it?”

Max let out a huffy breath.

“Stop answering my questions with more questions.”

“Excuse me Mad Max, you’re the one that started it.”

“You’re the one that stole my notebook.”

Mike cleared his throat before pushing himself off the wall.

“I’m going to go meet up with the guys Lucas, I’m not particularly interested in whatever weird little debate dance you two do,” he says, waving to the two as he heads off back towards the cafeteria.

Max and Lucas semi wave bye to him, too focused on each other.

“Give it back Sinclair.”

“That’s not a very nice way of asking,” Lucas teased, holding the notebook just close enough so that she can grab it, but he doesn’t let go quite yet.

“Can I see what you put in it?” His voice is almost soft now, slipping into that tone he uses when he’s selling a closing statement.

For a brief minute Max considers saying yes. Letting him see all of the times she wrote his name in hearts. But she quickly stops herself.

“Nope, not gonna happen,” she replies and he lets go of the notebook.

As she’s sliding it into her bag, Lucas shoves his hands into his pockets, rocking slightly back and forth.

“Are you going to Allison’s birthday party this weekend?”

He practically blurts the question out and Max is a bit startled, but feels a funny feeling in her stomach when it hits her that maybe Lucas wants to know if he’ll see her there.

“Yeah, I’m thinking I might swing by with some friends,” she answers, readjusting her messenger bag. “Are you?”

“Dustin was the one who suggested it, he knows her from theater. Will and I will probably go, just waiting to see if we can convince Mike to.”

Max nods, knowing that she absolutely needs to convince El that it’s worth going. Plus if Mike is going to be there as well there might be more incentive.

“Well, I guess I’ll see you in class then, and then this weekend,” Max finally says when the silence between the two of them almost learns into awkwardness.

As they part ways, Max bites her lip as she smiles to herself.

It looks like a win/win situation so far this morning. Not only did she successfully get her notebook back (and she believes he didn’t look in it), but now she has the potential chance of getting to see Lucas on the weekend.

_Now all she had to do was figure out what she was going to wear._


End file.
